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I like the photo on the right and its caption. It's both easy and difficult to explain, with the latter applying to someone not familiar with the state's educational landscape. In addition to the good private schools like Stanford, Cal Tech, and USC, there are 2 state university systems. There is the UC system (more prestigious and geared to research and preparation for graduate studies) and the CSU system (less prestigious, with a few exceptions, and more applied and vocational). When I finished high school, they flat out told you that a certain GPA and SAT score would get you into the UC system, and that formula included Berkeley (the mother campus) and UCLA (sort of the co-flagship). Move forward 2 or 3 decades and the landscape is very, very different. Now, Berkeley and UCLA admit less than 15% of the freshman applicant pool. Some of the other good UCs admit about 25% to 35% of their applicants. That's less than Montreal's McGill, which I think is a better school. Except for the 2 polytechnic universities within the CSU system (San Luis Obispo and Pomona), the others admit fairly liberally, with some as high as 85% to 90%. SLO and Pomona are good at engineering and architecture, which may not be found at the other CSUs, so the admit rate is lower. Now, if we're talking the Bakersfield, Fresno, San Bernardino, and Chico campuses, just show up with a pulse and, at Chico, a strong penchant for partying. I knew this chick who looked like Rachel Ward's lost twin sister and who graduated from CSU Sacramento. She said, "If a resume from Chico State lands on your desk, just put it in the trash can." That's a stretch, but I laughed. I'm sure a few capable scholars end up at CSU Chico, but not many. Sorry for being slightly pedantic, but I keep tabs on this sort of stuff. California is a weird but interesting place. It has about the same population as Argentina. Within the last few years, less people are making it a destination. But when my parents got to this country, they bolted from the greater New York area when the opportunity to live in Southern California presented itself.

He wouldn't be the true-to-form @oldshurst442 we know if there weren't those occasional rants.

Happy Birthday, @oldshurst442! Hopefully we don't make you have to go on some rant today! Hahaha

A California dude you said, huh? yeah... Looksie what I looked and found on the double-u double-u double-u and it didnt take long...the one on the right. (your other right for our California readers.. just in case they get confused on which right to look at) Really 'splains alot...

Happy B-Day @oldshurst442

Let me be the first to wish one of our more unique and active members @oldshurst442 greetings on his special day, per the site's daily "news feed." Happy birthday - Charoumena genethlia - Bon anniversaire And many more ... enjoy your day!

@oldshurst442 Thought of you today, when I had a single meeting after my doctors appointment. A new team member based in California was chatting with one of our team members based in Toronto. The California team member just could not grasp why the Toronto team member could not drive to Calgary and back in the same day to have lunch at the CN Tower.